


Bittersweet Peppermint

by Alvara



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, References to Suicide, Truth Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:07:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/616886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alvara/pseuds/Alvara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A suburbs in North Dakota has six bodies turn up shortly after the fifth of December. All of the victims had their tongues severed and bled to death after admitting to personal affairs, stealing from their spouses, and other truths so horrible it resulted in suicide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bittersweet Peppermint

"Suburbs in North Dakota has six bodies turn up shortly after the fifth of December. All of the victims had their tongues severed and bled to death after admitting to personal affairs, stealing from their spouses, and one who covered up putting her boyfriend's dog to sleep while he was away on a business trip."

Sam rubbed his eyes after skimming through what he had collected so far, fingers moving back to the keyboard of his laptop before he searched for any possible lead as to what they could be dealing with here.

The cafe he had settled down for research in Westbroad, North Dakota was quiet and warm in contrast to the snow piling just outside the clear glass of the window seat Sam had taken.

It was quiet except for the soft notes of a Christmas tune over the cafe's speakers, only a few customers chattering away in the corners making it a cozy but easy place to focus on half witted police reports and eye witness accounts.

At least Sam could rest easy knowing that Dean was having just as much fun as he was, having set out an hour ago to interview the eye witnesses and families of the deceased to see if there were any correlation between the victims.

Right now they could use anything, a mutual acquaintance or something that brought the victims together rather than just a compulsion to tell the truth to anyone who would listen before their ability to speak altogether was cut from them.

"A coven?"

Sam didn't even jump as he looked up from his laptop to see that Castiel had chosen to pop into the empty seat across the cafe table. He only bothered to do a slight cursory glance around the cafe to see that no one had noticed the angel appearing out of thin air before turning back and reaching for his coffee.

"Two of the victims weren't locals, just drifters from out of town. Seems too random for witches unless we have a very sensitive one on our hands." Sam took a long drink of the sugary Christmas coffee, holding back a grimace from how sweet it was but thankful for any sort of caffeine in his system. Two hours of interrupted sleep while driving out to the case wasn't exactly ideal.

Still, it was nice to have Cas backing them up again. The angel had only popped in to see him a few times, usually trailing behind Dean to the victims' houses as an inconspicuous EMF meter and Dean's FBI partner while Sam hit the books.

Cas had learned his way around hunting quickly and though he was still blunt with talking to witnesses, he was actually fitting in as their 'third wheel' no matter if the case was bloodsuckers to werewolves and everything in between.

Sam might have thought that Cas fit into that space a bit too easily.

After the initial few nights of Dean trying to get Cas to check into his own room at the motel, he eventually caved and started to let him stay 'so long as you don't stare at me all night. I'm no romance novel harlot and it's a bit rapey, man.'

Cas typically kept to that condition, often helping Sam if he was up late flipping through old books that he couldn't translate without the angel's help. It was getting to the point where Sam half expected Cas to always be sitting across from him when he was researching. He was even starting to develop a habit of asking thin air what a certain word was in a different language, only to look up and remember that Cas was off somewhere else.

A few times on long nights in the motel, Cas would zap out unexpectedly, returning with coffee when Sam was tired but still had a long ways to go. One time he had returned with donuts when time got away from them while buried under old books and the sun was already peeking through the dusty motel curtains. Dean had stolen a few when he woke up, along with the second coffee Cas had gotten for him.

Between cases, Sam would sometimes roll over in the night to find Cas curled up in either his bed or Dean's, obviously not asleep but it didn't bother either of them. Sam would usually nudge Cas and remind him to take off his shoes before lifting a side of the blanket for the angel to crawl under.

Dean slept like a log during his typical four hours but the extra weight on the bed in the middle of the night still made him start and grab for the knife he kept under the pillow. He had managed not to knife Cas the forth time he crawled in with him which was a vast improvement. More often than not, Cas was in Sam's bed though and Sam felt he should be more unnerved than he was about how comfortable he was with that.

Sam jerked from his thoughts when he realized he was wondering down that tangent of thought again, while staring directly at Cas no less. The angel tilted his head to side at the oddly timed reaction, making Sam clear his throat and reach to cover it up by downing what was left in his coffee cup despite the sweetness.

"Is something wrong, Sam?" Cas asked as a waitress dressed to the teeth in Christmas garb walked over to their table with a warm pot of fresh coffee in hand. Sam brushed off the question and thanked the waitress for the refill before she walked back behind the festively decorated counter.

"Nothing, Cas. Just zoned out for a bit." Sam muttered as he brought the fresh coffee to his lips, relieved that it had less sugar this time and instead held more of a peppermint aftertaste.

The silence starting to settle between them was suddenly cut short by the sound of Sam's phone ringing. Pulling it out of his jacket, Sam quickly picked it up after seeing the name 'Dean' on the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

"So Mrs. Dog Killer and the other five victs all committed suicide according to the cornier." Dean's voice came from the other end of the line, Cas sitting forward more as if expecting Sam to relay what was being said to him quickly. "All cut out their tongues and either choked on their own blood or bled to death at a rate that they're calling 'extreme hypertention'. Chick died in under ten minutes in front of her boyfriend and that shouldn't even be possible."

"Seems whatever is in this town is out for blood." Sam met Cas' eyes briefly before moving his free hand to the keyboard of his laptop. "Find any connection between them other than that?"

"Yeah." Dean huffed, the sound of the Impala's doors shutting just loud enough to come over the phone. "Tracked back through the day of each victim and found a similar receipt from a 'Christmas Bells' cafe. I was just about to head over there if you and feather butt want to meet up."

"'Christmas Bells'?" Sam asked, looking up at the window to look over the backwards writing of the cafe's name. The little golden bells laced together with red ribbon were Sam's answer before he even read the red and green writing. "Scratch that. Cas and I are already there. We'll handle it and meet you back at the motel."

"Alright. Could use a break to grab some grub. I'm starving." Dean said, the ignition of the Impala reaching Sam's ears as Dean started the car on the other side of the phone. "I'll meet you back at the motel in an hour."

"See you then."

Sam hung up, motioning for Cas to get up from the table as he stowed his cell. He stood up and made his way toward the decorated counter and the waitress behind it, Cas in tow. The spunky brunette was smiling and talking to a customer, not exactly the face of a witch but Sam had run into quiet a few like her before enough not to let down his guard.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" He called out from behind the middle aged woman complimenting the waitress's coffee, pulling out his FBI badge and flashing it in her direction.

"I'm glad you liked the coffee, Mrs. Burnt. I'll see you Christmas eve." The waitress waved goodbye to the woman as she left before turning to Sam and Cas with a bright smile on her face. "What can I help you gentlemen with?"

"We're here about the recent round of suicides in this town."

"Oh, yes. I heard. It's downright awful and just before Christmas." The waitress shook her head, her smile dropping into a sympathetic frown. "I would hate to know how the families are feeling at what should be such a happy time of year."

"Yeah, it's a tragedy. That's why we're looking into a possible cause." Sam shifted on his feet as he looked for any sign that the woman could be lying. "A partner of mine found an odd connection between all the victims. They all seemed to visit your cafe the day they committed suicide and I was wondering if you knew something about that?"

"Well, I'm not too surprised. We did just open up on the fifth. Nearly everyone in town has passed through at some point." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before turning to turn off a coffeemaker that was beeping for her attention. "The Christmas spirit is just infecting everyone this year, I suppose. Or maybe it's my special coffee blends."

"They are very sweet." Sam tried to compliment her but the memory of the sugar drowned coffee made it hard. The waitress giggled a bit before smiling.

"I noticed how you grimaced at the sugar cookie blend. That's why I made a pot of my special peppermint ribbon. It's more bitter and not as popular but you seemed to like it more." She smiled and turned to the machine that had just finished making a fresh pot of steaming coffee. "Would you and your partner like another cup? I imagine FBI work must leave you in need of a caffiene recharage often."

"No, thank you. We were just-"

"Sam." Cas interupted him, making Sam glace at him before looking back at the waitress. She was striaghtening herself from reaching under the counter, a small bottle resting in her hand with voodoo markings etched deeply into the glass.

"Ma'am, where did you get that?" Sam asked as the waitress paused in setting down the bottle in order to look at it.

"Oh, Mrs. Burnt gave it to me for a Christmas present. She said she bought it from some girl in Missouri. I heard from my customers that it makes the peppermint ribbon blend taste absolutely perfect." She grinned.

"You mean the coffee that you just gave me?" Sam felt his expression fall when the woman nodded. "That's not good."

"Not good? Why?" The waitress set the bottle on the counter, confused as Sam pulled out the clip of money from his back pocket.

"Listen. I need to buy this off you and get back to the motel before I start telling the truth to you." Sam dropped sixty dollars onto the counter, not stopping even as his words caught up to him.

"Pardon?" Her face twisting into a cross of worry and distrust before she turned to Castiel. "Is your partner alright?"

"He's not my partner." The words tumbled out of Sam's mouth even after he tried to bite his tongue to keep silent, his next words spilling out and leaving an awkward silence behind them. "I wish he was though. What with all the nights he spends in my bed, it's kind of hard not to touch him like he's mine. Not that he is mine, I just want him to be. And I'm going to leave now. Fuck."

Sam snatched up the bottle from the counter, turning to leave quickly without so much as a goodbye or glancing at Cas. He was out the door of the cafe and halfway down the street before he could hear anything other than his heartbeat in his ears.

\--

Sam made it back to the motel room before Dean, locking the door behind him even though it wouldn't stop Castiel should he decide to drop in. Dropping the voodoo bottle onto the table, he headed to the bathroom to splash water on his face even if it wouldn't help.

The tap of the motel room's sink squeaked horribly as he turned it, grating his ears as the water started flowing into the porcelain basin. Sam sighed before cupping his hands in the water and splashing it on his face, the warm water a relief despite doing nothing to get him out of his current predicament.

Of course, he had to be the one who got hit by the voodoo truth serum that an unsuspecting waitress had stumbled across and blurt out feelings he had been suppressing. He had hoped he could just keep it hidden deep down and leave it there, untouched and quiet, but the truth serum had to ruin that for him.

Sam grabbed the small hand towel next to the sink, burying his face into it and ignoring the musky smell it held in favor of drying his face. It wasn't his fault that from day one of meeting the angel, Cas was always in the back of his mind. As more than a friend but that was so unlikely to actually happen that he never even entertained himself with the idea.

"Sam." Sam tore the towel off his face to see Cas suddenly standing behind him, an expression equally parts confusion and worry on his face.

"Cas." Sam placed the hand towel back on the counter before turning to face Cas, not sure what he should say but his tongue apparently did. "I meant what I said back there."

"I know." Cas said with a faint smile on his face, lifting a hand and tapping two fingers to Sam's forehead. "The curse is very weak. Age must have worn it down. You should be fine now, Sam."

"Cas-"

"Sam, you in here? I grabbed dinner." The motel room door slammed shut as Dean's voice rang out, the crinkle of fast food bags hitting the wooden table following shortly after.

Sam opened his mouth to shout out a reply to Dean. Before he could think of what to say, he felt Castiel's warm hand move to the back of his neck pull him down just enough so Cas could kiss him.

Sam only got one blissful moment of recognition that the lips pressed against his belonged to the angel that he had been longing after for so long before Cas was suddenly gone. He heard Dean greet him in the main room as he appeared out of nowhere, like he hadn't just been in the bathroom with Sam.

Sam finally remembered to breathe a few minutes after he heard Dean sitting down at the table and start digging in to dinner and talking with Cas as if everything was fine. He waited until his heartbeat calmed down before exiting the bathroom to explain that the case was over to Dean.

The smile Sam kept catching on Castiel's face out of the corner of his eye made the tension of his slip up ease away though.

Maybe he didn't have to keep hiding how he felt about Cas after all.


End file.
